Topic was almost, “Will TMBR be the new Tom Kuhn?”
I was late to find out the sad news that TK will indeed be going the way of the dodo. I’ve recently fallen completely in love with TMBR and I see a lot of similarities between the two brands. TMBR is certainly way more “boutique” at this point and I’d like it to stay that way, with the limited runs and the fact that it’s a one man show. Anyone else smell what I’m cooking?
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What do you mean?
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The two are on a level playing field in that they are all wood (mostly) with wooden axles. The TMBR yoyos I own are better players than No Jives in my opinion. I base that on ease of hitting tricks. The TMBR yoyos just make it easier for me. That being said… there’s probably an argument to be made that they make it too easy…
Will TMBR fill the void? I’m not sure how much of a void it really is.
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It’s hard for me to separate the impact the No-jive had from the impact that Tom Kuhn made on the yo-yo scene. If the N-J came out today, I think I would still like it as much, it is probably my favorite wood yo-yo for all around play. If Tom Kuhn hadn’t done what he did to promote the 3in1, I don’t think the ‘state of yo’ would be what it is today.
So there are a couple of voids to consider here.
Vegabomb, are you going to finish that cake? It looks pretty good.
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I think there are certainly parallels. Big difference to me is that from the 80’s on, TK was really an operation. They made A LOT of yo-yo’s - mostly the same few models which had very similar characteristics between them. Colin is a bit more into the craft IMO, and will always be way smaller in # and with more variation. That said, Tom (and Brad) and Colin are all people who appreciate the value of a “simple” yo-yo, the importance of sustainability, and the historical context of yo-yoing.
I don’t think TMBR is set up to occupy that role, because Colin’s not going to try to put the equivalent of a No Jive into thousands of hands. I think he’d rather keep experimenting. He’s like a purist surfboard shaper constantly searching for the most elegant way to turn something static into something that dances in space.
The nice thing is that (as Kevin said) TK changed the landscape in terms of getting a standard out there, and now there’s room for a number of wood manufacturers to meet demand with lots of slightly different product. Besides TMBR, you’ve got Hildy, OUT, Glen/Spinworthy, Soul Fuel, Fallen44, stuff that Jensen and Jon Gates are doing… not to even mention Yoyofactory, which gets little credit for having put metric TONS of solid wood yo-yo’s out into the world.
So I don’t know if it’s as simple as TMBR picking up the TK mantle, but I do think they have a lot of wonderful things in common, and I do think that wood lovers are gonna be ok. 
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The nice thing is that if I just wait a bit, @edhaponik comes in and says exactly what I was going to say and saves me the typing!
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Great minds bro!
(Or minds that have just had yo-yos on the brain for longer than the casual observer would understand)
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Tom sent me a photo once of a couple boxes of No Jive halves, non assembled just the halves. There were possibly more yoyos in those two boxes than TMBR has made. It was crazy! And that’s just a couple boxes sitting around.
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Wait where was this confirmed?
I read it as this was just the assumption made from reading our various conversations on the topic over the past few months.
And while not confirmed, it’s also not a terrible assumption to make.
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Tom licenses the brand to Brad, and Brad has been gradually doing less and less over the past few years. I think they will carry on in a perfunctory kind of way for as long as Brad and Lisa have time to do anything with it. NO idea for any plans after that - they may more actively seek a buyer or they may allow it to pass into history.
Case in point, the website is presently down. Which it’s been intermittently over the past few years. They’ve let some stock trickle out, occasionally with some new ano/engraving, but they’ve just kind of been “existing”, and just barely at that.
No judgment or hate from me regarding them. Some companies evolve or change hands, some implode/explode, and some fade away.
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Well I first heard here, and Ive done enough business with them as of late to see for myself.
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